Towel service cabinet



June 28, 1938. A. 1. HONDEVILLE 51m.

TOWEL SERVICE CABINET Filed Jan. 10, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet l J. A. El/J s oRNEY Patented June 28, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOWEL SERVICE CABINET Application January 10, 1936, Serial No. 58,458

11 Claims. (Cl. 312-37) This invention relates to towel dispensing devices, and while the main objects and the general method of disposing of the used towels in the structure of the present invention are the same as those of the device shown in Patent No. 2,005,744, granted June 25th, 1933, to A. I. Hondeville; the present structure is far simpler in construction, does not require a special folding of the towels, the possibility of the apparatus getting out of order due to a certain inevitable amount of user carelessness is reduced to a minimum; and the device asa whole presents a neater and more symmetrical appearance.

Also, it is much easier to remove the used and soiled towels and to refill the cabinet'with a fresh supply than was previously the case.

These objects we accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims,-

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of our improved cabinet with the operating pedal retracted or in its normal inoperative position.

Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the pedal depressed and a towel partly pulled out.

Fig. 3 is a; cross-section of the device, showing the parts in the'same position as in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a similar view with the parts in the same position as the Fig. 2, but showing the door opened.

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

' v Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front elevation, showing the mounting of the pedal actuated rod on 'the gear arm. I

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral I denotes a cabinet of rectangular form, supported a certain distance clear of the floor on legs 2. The front of the cabinet has a relatively short panel 3 extending down from the top, and a I hinged door 4 covering theremaining area of the front, except for a somewhat narrow slot 5 left between the top of the door and the bottom of the panel. The door and slot extendsubstantially the full width of the cabinet, the length of said slot being greater than the width of the towels used in the cabinet. The door is provided 1 with a vertical slot 6 somewhat wider than the slot 5 and extending downwardly a certain distance from the, top of the door centrally of the idth he wi- Mounted in the cabinet intermediate the front and back and extending between and secured to the side Walls thereof is a vertical partition I; the top of the partition being on a level adjacent the top of the door and the bottom of said partition being some distance from the bottom 'of the cabinet, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4 Mounted on and projecting forwardly from the partition on a level somewhat above the top of the same are horizontally spacedrods 8 which curve upwardly at their forward ends as at 9. These rods are spaced to register with holes provided at the top binding of a pad of towels Ill. The general form and structure of this pad is the same as shown in Patent No. 1,973,984, granted September 18th, 1934, to A. I.--I-Iondeville; while the lower edges of the independent towels are alternately off-set or bias-cut in the manner shown in the Hondeville Patent No. 1,981,386, dated November 20th, 1934.

The towels depend from the rods between the door and a presser plate or follower II, which is slidably or swivelly mounted on horizontal rods 1 2 extending forwardly from the partition and spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the towels. Springs l3 on these rods urge the follower forwardly; an additional helical spring 14 being disposed between the partition and the follower below the rods. The top of the follower is some distance below the rods 8 and the latter terminate at their forward end back of the door a distance greater than the thickness of 'the towel pad so that the upper portion of the latter is unrestrained and has an easy forward and downward bend which facilitates manipulation of the towels.

The towels extend below the door slot 6 somewhat and each is provided with acentrally located pull tab I5 on the front which is exposed to said slot a short distance from the bottom thereof. By reason of the above construction, it will be seen that the towels are always clamped between the door and the follower; the bottom portion of the latter having a friction surface I6 on its forward face and the door having a similar surface on its inner face below the slot 6. This surface is preferably a'rubber pad ll, provided with yieldable protrusions l8.

By reason of this pad H, in conjunction with the bias cut of the lower edges of the towels, the possibility of two towels being withdrawn from the slot 6 upon the front one being grasped by the tab, is minimized. This is because theportion of that towel immediately behind the front one will contact the friction pad and will beheld with a frictional grip greater than that had by the contact of the towels with each other. In this respect therefore, it will be seen that the present structure is similar to that employed in the cabinet shown in the aforementioned Patent No.

It will therefore be seen that if the slot 6 is open, the tab of the adjacent towel is exposed and the user by pulling out and upwardly on this tab will pull the naturally flexible or limp towel first into said slot, as shown in Fig. 2, and then into the upper horizontal slot as indicated, where the towel can flatten out of itself and where practically its entire area is available for use. For the purposes of sanitation, however, and also to insure of proper disposing of the towel subsequent to use, this slot is normally closed and is opened by the person desiring to use a towel. Means operated in conjunction with the slot opening means is also provided to retract the exposed and used towel into the cabinet clear of a fresh towel. These operations are accomplished in the following manner.

Normally extending across the slot 5 are upper and lower shutters l9 and 20, the former being quite short in height. The shutter 20 is secured to an arm 2! which depends to adjacent the bottom of the door on the inside and is pivoted thereon at its lower end, as shown at 22. The shutter i9 is secured to an arm 23 depending on the right-hand side of the slot 6 and an. arm 2! to a pivotal connection 24 with the door above the lower end of said arm 23; which end on one side contacts the arm 2| above its pivot as shown in Fig. 4. A tension spring 25 connects the arms above their pivots and acts to hold the shutter closed. 7 l

Pivoted on the arm 23 above its pivot and extending toward the right-hand side of the door is a link 26 which at its outer end is pivoted on the adjacent end of another link 21. The opposite end of the other link is pivoted on the door adjacent its right-hand edge. A lug 28 projects outwardly from the link 21 and it will be seen that if lifting pressure is applied to the lug, the shutters will be swung clear of the slot with movements in opposite directions, as indicated in Fig. 4. It is to be understood that the shutters are disposed between the inner and outer surfaces of the door so that the shutters cannot catch against the towels. For this reason, the door is made of double thickness from immediately above the spring 25 to adjacent the top of the door, terminating short of the top so as to form inside ledges 29 which extend on opposite sides of the slot 6 for the purpose which will be seen later.

The opening movement is imparted to the shutters by the following means. Pivoted intermediate its ends on the right-hand front leg 2 is a nor-' mally raised depressible pedal lever 30. Connect'ecl to the inner normally lowered end of the pedal is a rod 3!. Thisextends upwardly into the cabinet adjacent the front right corner of the same. At its upper end this rod slides through a boss 32 swivelly mountedon the forward end of an arm 33, which is pivoted at its rear end in the cabinet. I

,A compression spring 34 is disposed about the rod below and abuts againstthe boss 32, so that the rod and arm move as a unit until the resistance to rotation of thearm exceeds the strength of the spring. Projecting forwardly from the rod 3! in vertical alinement with the lug 28 is an extension 35 positioned below 521d lug'and adapted to engage and lift the same only as the pedal approaches a fully depressed position.

Formed integral with the arm 33 and projecting rearwardly from the pivot thereof is a segmental gear 36. This gear meshes with a pinion 31 fixed on shaft 38 which extends from side to side of and is journaled in the cabinet walls. This shaft is disposed just in front of and adjacent the top of the partition 1. A tension spring 39 connects the gear and the front wall of the cabinet and acts to rotate the gear in a direction so as to hold the rod 3! depressed or the pedal in a raised position.

Fixed on and extending radially from the shaft 38 are arms or rods 40 spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the towels. The outer ends of these rods are bent toward each other to form towel engaging fingers 4|. The rods are normally positioned so that the fingers are at the back of the cabinet, resting against bumpers 42 as shown in Fig. 3. The length of the rods is such that when they are swung forwardly from such position with the rotation of the shaft a certain amount, the fingers will rest on the ledges 29; said fingers being spaced apart at their adjacent ends so that they do not overhang the vertical slot 6. a

In operation it will therefore be seen that with the depression of the pedal, the rods 40 will first be swung forwardly to rest on the ledges 29 as shown in Fig. 4, where they do not interfere with the withdrawing of a towel. Since the shafts 38 and the gear are then held against further rotation, a further depression of the pedal raises the rod 3! alone, and the extension 35 then engages and lifts the lug 28, opening the shutters as. previously explained. The operator retaining a hold-down pressure on the pedal then withdraws a towel for use, as described, allowing the towel after use to hang down on the outside of the cabinet if desired.

With this position of the towel, it will be seen that it is above the fingers 4| so that as the pedal is released, said towel is engaged and raised by the upwardly and rearwardly moving fingers and is retracted into the cabinet so as to hang down over the back of the partition as shown in Fig. 4. In order to insure that the towel will be held clear of the parts intermediate the towel pad and partition, we provide supporting members 43 which extend upwardly and forwardly from the partition to a termination above and back of the forward .end of the supporting rods 8. The towel then rests on these members 43 as shown and as the fingers 4| assume their rearmost position, the limp towel of course drops clear of the fingers behind the partition.

By the time the last towel in the pad is withdrawn for use, the weight of the used towels is sufficient' to cause the subsequent retracting movement of the fingers M to slide the top of the pad off the supporting rods 8, so that the entire pad drops to the bottom of the cabinet behind the partition. From this position it is easily removed by the service man upon opening the door and reaching in. The structure is arranged so as to hold a plurality of towel pads simultaneously, each pad when used up being automatically disengaged from the supporting rods 8 in the manner above recited, Without disturbing a subsequent pad. To mount a towel pad in place, it is only necessary to open the door, engage the holes in the pad over the curved portions 9 of the rods 8, press back on the towels so as to temporarily retract the follower plate,

and then close the door while initially holding thetowels thus: pressed back.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that we have produced: such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein While this specification setsforth in detail the presentand preferred construction of the device, still in practice: such deviations from such detail may be resorted toas do: not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended: claims.

Having thus described our invention,. whatwe claim-g as new and: useful. and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A towel servidor comprising a cabinet provided in the front with a towel dispensing opening which includes a transverse slot of greater width than a toweL-means in the cabinet to support individual towels along one horizontal edge in a vertical position adjacent and behind the slot so that the towels extend across the slot with their supported edge lying in a horizontal plane adjacent that of the slot, whereby the major portion of the area of any towel may be withdrawn through the slot in a'transversely horizontal position for use, horizontally alined fingers in the cabinet disposed parallel to the slot, pivoted arms mounting said fingers for reciprocating movement upwardly from adjacent the rear of the cabinet and then downwardly to a forward position along and adjacent the lower edge of the slot and vice versa, and so that with their rearward movement, the fingers will engage and retract the withdrawn towel into the cabinet behind the unused towels, manually actuated means including a pedal to swing the arms to such forward position before the towel is withdrawn, means to automatically move the fingers rearwardly into. the cabinet, from said forward position when the pressure on the pedal is released, a closure normally covering a portion of said opening so as to prevent the Withdrawing of a towel foruse, means to open the closure including a projecting lug, and means mounted on the arm actuating means and positioned relative to the lug to engage the same and actuate the closure opening means only after said arm actuating means has been moved sufficiently to place the fingers in a towel engaging position.

2. A towel servidor comprising a cabinet having a towel dispensing opening in the front which comprises a transverse slot at the top of the opening of greater width than a towel, means in the cabinet to support a plurality of individual towels in depending relation from their upper edges and so that such edges are substantially on a level with said slot, means constantly holding the front towel below its supported edge against the front of the cabinet whereby it is disposed adjacent the opening and may be grasped for withdrawal for use, a horizontal shaft turnably mounted in the cabinet back of the supported towels and parallel to the slot, arms projecting from said shaft and spaced apart a distance greater than the width of a towel, horizontal and alined fingers on the outer ends of the arms, manually controlled means to rotate the shaft so that the arms are swung upwardly and forwardly from a normal position adjacent the back of the cabinet to a position such that the fingers are disposed immediately adjacent and below the transverse slot on opposite sides of the central portion thereof, and spring means to rotate the shaft in the opposite direction.

3'. Ac structure as in claim 2, with ledges projecting inwardh from the front of the cabinet in. depressed relation to the bottom edge of the transverse slot to support the fingers and limit the downward movement thereof.

42'. A structure as in claim 2, with a partition in the cabinet extending downwardly from adjacent the shaft and spaced from the back and bottom of the cabinet, the towel supporting means being mounted on and projecting forwardly from said partition.

5. A structure as in claim 2, with a partition in the cabinet extending downwardly from adjacent the shaft and spaced from the back and bottom of the cabinet; and elements extending rearwardly and downwardly to the partition from above the point of support of the depending towels to support the adjacent portion of a towel retracted into the cabinet by the upward and rearward movement of the fingers.

6. A structure as in claim 2, in which said towel supporting means comprises horizontally spaced parallel rods extending at right angles to the front of the cabinet and on which the towels are slidably strung; the rods terminating at their forward end in upwardly curved portions spaced inwardly from said slot.

7. A towel servidor comprising a cabinet having a towel dispensing opening in the front which comprises a transverse slot at the top of the opening of greater width than a towel, means in the cabinet to support a plurality of individual towels in depending relation from their upper edges and so that such edges are substantially on alevelwith said slot, means constantly holding the front towel below its supported edge against the front of the cabinet whereby it is disposed adjacent the opening and may be grasped for withdrawal for use, a horizontal shaft turnably mounted in the cabinet back of the supported towels and parallel to the slot, arms projecting from said shaft and spaced apart a distance greater than the width of a towel, horizontal and alined fingers on the outer ends of the arms, the length of the arms being substantially equal to the distance of the shaft from the front of the cabinet, a shutter normally closing a portion of the dispensing opening, a pinion on the shaft, a gear meshing the pinion, a depressible pedal, a rod extending between the pedal and gear and arranged to cause the arms to be swung upwardly and forwardly with the depression of the pedal, means preventing further rotation of the shaft and gear when the fingers have assumed a position immediately adjacent and below the slot, a yiel-dable connection between the rod and gear arranged to allow of further movement of the rod after said gear is incapable of further movement, and means operated by such further movement of the rod to open the shutter.

8. A structure as in claim '7 in which said last named means comprises an arm connected to the shutter and pivoted on the cabinet, a pair of pivoted links pivoted at opposite ends on the arm and cabinet respectively, said links and arm being arranged relative to each other so that as the links are buckled upwardly the arm will be swung on its pivot to move the shutter clear of the opening, and a horizontal extension rigid with the rod and projecting under the links in position to engage and buckle the same only with such further movement of the rod.

9. A towel servidor comprising a cabinet provided in its front wall with a towel dispensing opening, means in the cabinet to support a plurality of towels in position for the withdrawal of individual towels successively through the opening for use, means in the cabinet to retract the used towels into the cabinet, a shutter normally closing the opening, manually actuated means to move the towel retracting means into a position for functioning and shutter actuating means connected to and operated by said manually actuated means to open the shutter and including means to prevent opening movement being imparted to the shutter until the towel retracting means has been moved to said functioning position.

10. A towel servidor comprising a cabinet provided in its front wall with a towel dispensing opening which includes a top transverse portion comprising a slot of greater width than a towel, a towel when withdrawn through the opening being adapted to extend through said slot, means in the cabinet to support a plurality of individual towels in position convenient for individual withdrawal through the opening for use, the towel when thus withdrawn being adapted to extend through the slot, a pair of horizontally allined separate fingers in the cabinet disposed parallel to the slot, means mounting the fingers for reciprocating movement from the rear of the cabinet to a forward position along the bottom of the slot, said fingers being spaced sufficient to enable a towel to be drawn through the opening and into the slot without interference from the fingers, manually actuated means to move the fingers to such forward position, and means to automatically move the fingers to the rear position and guards in the cabinet'engaging the fingers from underneath when said fingers are at the bottom of the slot, to prevent contact of a towel with the fingers when the towel is being pulled upwardly through the slot to a usable position.

11. A structure as in claim 2, with a closure for the opening normally preventing withdrawal of a towel through said opening for use, means to open the 'closure, and means connected to the finger moving means for actuating the closure opening means when the fingers have reached said position adjacent the slot.

AUGUST I. HONDEVILLE. JOSEPH ARNOLD ELLIS. 

